Today we’d like to introduce you to Lexa Gillespie
Hi Lexa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Life has a beautiful way of redirecting our path when we least expect it. At 21, I was deep into my fashion marketing degree, building connections and interning in an industry I thought would be my forever home. But the universe had other plans. On September 11, 2012, after experiencing two unexpected seizures, I received the call that would change everything – I had a brain tumor in my right temporal lobe.
That diagnosis became my gateway to understanding the profound connection between body, mind, and spirit. Following my brain surgery and subsequent epilepsy diagnosis, I didn’t just survive – I began to truly live. My healing journey led me to complete my 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2014, followed by a specialized certification in divine sleep yoga Nidra with Jennifer Reese in Boston. The depths of my practice deepened through a 300-hour YTT in Asheville, North Carolina, where I discovered my calling as a yoga and meditation guide.
Portland, Oregon became my next chapter in 2016, where I found my way into corporate wellness, teaching yoga and eventually expanding into holistic fitness coaching. I witnessed firsthand how gentle movement and restoration could work in harmony to create lasting transformation. Over a decade of corporate wellness experience taught me the delicate balance between strength and softness.
But my journey wasn’t finished teaching me. In 2020, I faced another pivotal moment – a three-year medical challenge that not only stripped away my ability to practice yoga in the way I once had, but also took away my independence to drive. This seeming setback became my greatest teacher. It led me to discover the healing power of somatics and sound therapy, showing me that there are countless paths to wholeness beyond traditional movement practices. Through this experience, I learned to process deep medical trauma and discovered new ways of connecting with the body’s innate wisdom.
Today, I stand in my power as a holistic wellness guide, bringing together all these modalities – breath work, guided meditation, yoga, and somatic practices. My personal journey through brain cancer, epilepsy, and subsequent health challenges has given me a profound appreciation for the body’s remarkable capacity to heal when we slow down and listen. This is why I’m deeply passionate about helping others find their unique path to wellness, honoring that healing isn’t just about the physical body – it’s about awakening the healer within.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life’s path often presents itself in mysterious ways. While my journey was significantly marked by formidable health challenges that arose like monumental boulders in my path, there was an underlying flow that seemed almost divinely orchestrated. Beyond those medical struggles, I found myself being guided by an inner compass, an intuitive knowing that consistently pointed me toward the next step, the next modality, the next evolution of my practice. It was as if an invisible hand was orchestrating my movements, leading me precisely where I needed to be. This alignment with my inner guidance created a sense of flow and rightness, ultimately guiding me to my most authentic expression—what yogic tradition calls my Dharmic path—where I could be of greatest service to others.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Living through profound medical trauma transformed not just my healing journey, but my entire life’s purpose. Through my own path of recovery and discovery, I found that true healing requires us to listen deeply to the wisdom held within our bodies – a wisdom that often speaks in whispers our busy minds struggle to hear. This understanding, combined with over a decade of experience in corporate wellness and extensive training in healing modalities including Reiki, yoga, meditation, and plant medicine, led me to create Soma Integrative Wellness.
As an integrative somatic practitioner, I create a sacred container for trauma release and embodied healing. My approach weaves together gentle movement, guided meditation, sound healing, herbalism and personalized healing programs to help you discover where trauma lives in your physical form and, most importantly, how to release it. While traditional talk therapy has its place, I’ve found that our bodies hold stories that words alone cannot tell. Drawing from both my professional training and profound personal experience with trauma, I bring a deep capacity to hold space for the full spectrum of human emotion – from the depths of grief to the heights of joy. My clients often describe me as a warm, nurturing presence who helps them feel truly safe in their bodies, perhaps for the first time. What brings me the greatest joy is witnessing people awaken to their innate healing abilities, rediscovering the ancient wisdom that lives within each of us. What truly sets my practice apart is not just my extensive training or personal journey through healing – though I’ve walked this path barefoot through thorns and rough terrain – but my ability to be deeply, authentically present with each person who trusts me with their healing journey. In our work together, you’ll find a compassionate guide who sees you, holds space for you, and walks beside you as you reconnect with your body’s natural healing wisdom.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The quality I feel is most paramount to my success as the founder of Soma Integrative Wellness is my unwavering commitment to my own inner work. My dedication to continuous self-discovery through therapy, somatic practices, and energy work hasn’t just made me a better practitioner – it’s become the very foundation of my ability to create profound transformation for my clients. By consistently doing the deep work to unpack my own patterns and expand my light body awareness, I’ve cultivated the capacity to be a clear, grounded presence for those I serve. There’s a beautiful synchronicity in how my personal healing journey directly enhances my professional impact.
What truly sets my practice apart is my embrace of the perpetual student mindset alongside my role as a facilitator. This dance between teaching and learning keeps me humble and deeply attuned to the ever-evolving nature of healing work. By honoring my own emotional landscape – the peaks of triumph, the valleys of challenge, and everything in between – I’ve developed an authentic ability to hold space for my clients’ full spectrum of experiences. This intimate understanding of life’s ebbs and flows allows me to guide others with a depth of compassion and presence that comes only from walking this path myself. It’s this continuous investment in my own growth that enables me to show up as the most nurturing, attuned, and effective guide I can be for those seeking transformation through Soma Integrative Wellness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://somaintegrative.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soma.integrative.wellness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/SOMA-Integrative-Wellness/61565271737457/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SOMAIntegrativeWellness
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/soma-integrative-wellness-west-lake-hills
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@somaintegrativewellness
Image Credits
Photographer: Adrianna Zathan of Her Wild Essence
